The shipment of 2 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine gifted by India will arrive in Bangladesh on Thursday afternoon, according to Health Services Division Secretary Abdul Mannan.
The secretary was briefing the press at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Wednesday.
The vaccines will arrive in Bangladesh by an Air India flight at 1:30pm, Abdul Mannan said.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque will receive the vaccines, he added.
India will start sending vaccines to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Myanmar, and Seychelles from Wednesday, read a press release issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
The government of India has received several requests for the supply of Indian manufactured vaccines from neighbouring and key partner countries.
The release added that in respect of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Mauritius, India is awaiting their confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances.
Also, the immunization program is being implemented in India, as in other countries, in a phased manner to cover the healthcare providers, frontline workers, and the most vulnerable.
Keeping in view the domestic requirements of the phased rollout, India will continue to supply Covid-19 vaccines to partner countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner. It will be ensured that domestic manufacturers will have adequate stocks to meet domestic requirements while supplying abroad.
Prior to the delivery of vaccines, a training program, covering administrative and operational aspects, is being conducted on January 19-20 for immunization managers, cold chain officers, communication officers, and data managers of the recipient countries, both at national and provincial levels.
India has also provided training to several neighbouring countries to enhance and strengthen their clinical capabilities, under the Partnerships for Accelerating Clinical Trials (PACT) program.
